Adjustable tip for shoe and corset laces



l. B. ROSS.

ADJUSTABLE TIP FOR SHOE AND CORSET LACES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7, 1921.

1,41 1,746. Y Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

- m/i/vroe fr/oor 5. 60/1 UNITEn stares PATENT orsics.

rsrnon B. Ross, on NEW YORK, N. r, ASSIGNOR T0 ADJUSTO SHOE LACE COMPANY,

INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW ADJUSTABLE r11 r03 siaon AND consnr Laces.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Application filed. March 7, 1921. Serial No.- 45o,is1.

To all u; from it may concern Be it known that I, ISIDOR B. Ross, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, borough of Manhattan, in the county and "State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Adjustable Tip for Shoe and Corset Laces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an adjustable tip adapted more particularly for use on shoe and corset laces, and when associated therewith is intended to permit of variation in the length of the lace, thereby obviating the necessity of employing laces of undue length.

It is the practice to make shoe and corset laces of different lengths and in purchasing such la'ces, it is usually found that the lace is longer than necessary and that after tying the lace in a knot, lengthy free ends must be tucked in.

The object of this invention is to provide tends. The end of the lace is adapted't'o be cut off substantially flush with one end of the tubular meinber, whereupon the sec- 0nd or solid part of the tip is brought into cooperative relation with the tubular member to secure the lace in position withinthe tubular member. The solid part of the, tip embodie a threaded shank adapted to he crowed into the core of the lace and cut or form a thread directly in the lace, so as to expand and firmly bind the lace to the tubular member.

An important part of this invention resides in so forming the tubular part that semisp'heric'al doines would project from the inner surface thereof, so that when the shank of the solid part i screwed into place, itwill not only firmly bind the lace within the tubular part, but will cause a positive locking action through cooperation with the semi-spherical domes. If these domes were One part is in the form of a not einployechit would be practically iinpos- I sible to firmly secure the lace to the tubular part against pulling away when strain is placed on the tip. In any event, the threaded shank of the solid meinber would have to be made so tight, in the absence of the domes, that it would sobadly cut the lace when screwed into the tubular nieinber as to cause the end of the lace to be weakened, whereby it might be easily torn from the re mainder thereof. However, when the domes are employed, a tight locking engagement results without injury to the lace. The domes preferably-present a smooth surface to the lace so as to perniit the tubular part to be slid longitudinally of the lace without any injury whatsoever thereto. If sha p points or threads were formed on the interior of the tubular part, such sliding movement of the tubular part would result in (sitting or damage to the lace, thereby not onlyfwe'alreir ing the lace, but spoiling its appearance.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read. in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of the present invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limit of the invention.

Figure 1 shows the tip of the present in vention associated with the lace, a portion of the tip and part of the lace being shown in section.

Figure 2 shows the two parts of the tip partially removed with one part of the tip in section and the remainder of the structure in elevation.

Figure 3 is an elevation showing parts of the tip removed on the end of a lace; and,

Figure I} is a central section perspective of the tubular part of the tip.

Referring to the drawings, .5 designates a lace and 6 and 7 the two separable parts of the tip. The part 6 is of tubular form having an interior diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the lace. The part 7 is preferably made solid and is provided with a screw threaded shank 8, the free end of which is tapered to a point 9; Th? over:

tially half its len h.

tubular all diameter of the shank is slightly less than the inner diameter oi the tubular part (5, and at the base of such shank, the solid part 7 is formed with a tapering section 10. The corresponding end of the tubular part 6 is correspondingly shaped shown at 10.

In affixing the tip of the present invention to a lace in such manner as to impartthe desired length to the lace, the lace is passed through the tubular part 6, while the latter is disassociated with the solid part 7 of the tip and such tubular part of the tip is slid longitudinally along the lace, for example, into the dotted line position shown in Figure 2. The lace is then cut to the proper length, whereupon the tubular member is slid toward the cutend and into the full line position of Figure 2, wherein the cut end of the lace will be substantially flush with the end of the tubular member. The pointed end 9 of the shank 8 is now forced into the center or core of the lace and after such entry is made, the solid part 7 of the tip is rotated, so as to screw the shank 8 into the lace, after the manner shown in Figure 2, wherein the shank 8 is shown as having been screwed in substan- The rotation 0 the solid part 7 is continued until the stem has been screwed completely into the lace. This operation of screwlng the'stem into the lace effects a forming of threads in the body of the lace and simultaneously expands the lace within the tubular part 6, so that it will have a tight frictional gripping relationwith the inner surface of said tubular part. Moreover, at the conclusion of such operation, the tapered section 10 of the solid part 7 will cooperate with a correspondingrly formed surface at the adjacent end of the tubular part in causing the lace to be flared outwardly and tightly gripped between these cooperating parts, as clearly shown in Fig;- ure 1..

The interior of the tubular part (i in practice made perfectly smooth, and when this structure is followed. some means is required to preclude the tip ifrmn falling from the end of the laceyhecawe even though the lace is tightly forced a inst-the interior ofthe tubular part by the screw shank 8, the smoothness of the bore of the tubular part, together with the soft char actor of the lace structure, make it impos sible to securely attach the tip to the lace without the employment of further and officient binding means. In other words, friction alone cannot be depended upon to hold the parts in assembled relation.

While screw threading the interior of the art would give the desired griping action, such screwthreading is entirely impractical, since it would so cut the lace as to not only seriously weaken it, but to also mar or catch the threads of the lace when the tubular member is slid longitudinally thereof, prior to attachment. Accordingly, and after much experimentation, I have found that the efficient manner of as suring proper binding of the lace within the tubular part is to employ in conjunction with the screw threaded shank, semispherical domes on the interior of the tubular part. These domes are designated in the drawing by the reference character 11 and may be conveniently formed by forming depressions on the exterior surface of the tip which results in impressing the inner surface of the tubular part after the mannor clearly shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

tween successive threads of the threaded shank 8, after the manner clearly shown in Figure 1, so that when the parts are in as sembled relation, they will be firmly locked or interfitted together and will not depend entirely upon friction to maintain the integrity of the structure.

Through the employment of the present invention, on corset and shoe laces, such lat-es may be readily cut to any length de sired and a tip firmly secured in place on the cut end without the employment of any tools and in a simple and expeditious manner. The tip may be readily removed, for any purpose if desired, but its parts are so bound together by the lace structure that inadvertent displacement of the parts of the tip is precluded.

Oi marked practical importance is the fact that the tip of the present invention unusually simple in onstruction, and can he manufacturer] at a nominal cost. The parts maybe readily stamped up in quantity production. through the employment of conventional machinery, and. because there is no actual engagement between the screw threaded shank of the solid part 7 and the interior of the tubular part 6. great nicety in fitting these parts is not required. They can be made by quantity production in sub stantially cooperating sizes and will be found to properly cooperate because of the ability of the lace to compensate for slight discrepancies in structure or fit. It will be notedfrom Figure 1 that when the parts are assembled the end of the lace into which the threaded shank is screwed is formed 1 intoa substantially tubular section coaxial with the threaded shank and the tubular part 6 ofthe tip and this tubular section of the lace aartakes of a position between the metallic parts of the tip so that there is no cutting action such as would result if a fabric were brought between a metal to metal contact. v

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to cure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tip for laces embodying a tubular portion having a smooth interior, through which one end of the lace is adapted to be passed so as to extend through substantially the entire length of the tubular portion, a plurality of smooth projections extending from the inner surface of the tubular portion, and a threaded portion adapted to be screwed into the lace to expand the lace within the tubular portion for substantially the entire length of thelatter and form that portion of the lace within the tubular por tion of the tip into a cylindrical section substantially coaxial with the tubular portion and threaded portion of the tip, with the threads of the threaded portion cooperating with the projections to lock the tip against inadvertent displacement from the lacs.

2. A tip for laceseinbodying a tubular portion having a smooth interior, through which one end of the lace is adapted to be passed, a plurality of smooth faced substantially semi-spherical domes extending from the inner surface of the tubular member, and a threaded portion adapted to be screwed into the lace to expand the lace within the tubular portion for substantially the entire length of the latter and. form that portion of the lace within the tubular portion of the tip into a cylindrical section substantially coaxial with the tubular portion and threaded portion of the tip, with the threads of the threaded portion cooperating with the semi-spherical domes to lock the tip against inadvertent displacement from the lace.

3. A lace attachment embodying a female tubular member having a non-threaded inner surface and adapted to receiveand house the end of a lace which extends through substantially the entire length of the tubular member and a plurality of pro tultierances extending inwardly from said inner race, in combination with a male mem her having an irregular exterior adapted to be forced, centrally into the end of the lace when housed as specified. whereby the lace is expanded and held securely gripped. through the cooperating action between the protuberances on the inner face of the female member and the irregular exterior surface of the male member.

4. A lace attachment embodying a female tubular member having a non-threaded inner surface and adapted to receive and house the end of a lace, said female tubular member being provided interiorly with spaced domes, in combination with a male inembe: having a t'l'nieaded exterior adapted to be centrally forced into the end of the lace when housed as specified, whereby the lace is expanded and held securely gripped through the cooperating action between the domes on the inner face of the female mem ber and the threaded exterior surface of the male member.

5. A tip for laces embodying a tubular portion into which one end of a lace is adapted to be introduced, so that the lace will extend through substantially the entire length of the tubular portion, and a male member provided with a threaded shank and of lesser diameter than the internal diameter of the tubular portion and adapted to be screwed into the centre of that portion of the lace housed within the tubular portion for the purpose of forcing the threaded shank longitudinally into the lace, whereby that portion of the lace which receives the threaded shank is formed into a tubular conformation and expanded into tight frictional engagement with the inner surface of the tubular portion.

6. A tip for laces embodying a tubular sleeve into which one end of a lace is adapt ed to be introduced, so that the lace will extend for substantially the entire length of the sleeve, and a member provided with a threaded shank adapted to be screwed into the end of the lace after it has been positioned in the sleeve for the purpose of extending the lace within the sleeve, said threaded shank being free from engagement with the sleeve and being held in position by the threads which it automatically forms in the interior of the lace.

7. A tip for laces embodying a tubular sleeve provided with a smooth interior, from which projects a plurality ofdomes, a male member provided with a head, of larger cross section than the interior cross section of the sleeve, and having a threaded shank of less diameter than the cross section of the sleeve, whereby, when the lace is introduced into the sleeve so as to extend entirely therethrough, the threaded shank may be screwed into the interior of the lace, without engagement with the sleeve, to expand the lace within the sleeve and cause the head of the male member to grip the end of the lace, between the end of the sleeve and the base of the head.

8. A tip for laces embodying a female member in the form of a sleeve provided with a smooth interior from which projects inwardly a plurality of convex domes, and into the interior of which sleeve a lace is adapted to be introduced so as to extend entirely through the sleeve, in combination with a male member embodying a head, a

threaded shank, and a tapering portion incausing the tapering portion of the male member to seat into the end of the sleeve and tightly clamp the end of the lace.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ISIDOR B. ROSS. 

